Forever Reunited
by Alyssa G
Summary: It's the Degrassi fifteen year reunion and people have changed, some quiet a bit, there are both tragic and amazing surprises for the students left from the Degrassi class.
1. Mended

Ashley paced the room back and forth while Marco, Spinner and Paige sat calmly on an uncomfortable couch in the hospital's waiting room.

"Ash, he's going to be fine. It's amazing that they've offered Jimmy this sort of surgery!" Marco said optimistically. "Come over and sit down, he shouldn't be out for a while."

What seemed like hours passed by before a nurse came out. She showed no hint of expression.

"Mrs. Brooks?" The nurse called and Ashley jumped at her name.

"Yes?" Ashley replied, walking over frantically, practically tripping over her feet.

"Your husband is in his room now. You can go down and see him if you'd like."

"Oh... oh thank you." Ashley replied and waved Marco, Spinner, and Paige over.

"Jimmy!" Spinner shouted and immediately hugged him.

"Hey Spin, nice to see you too," he replied, smiling half-heartedly, then gave a yawn.

"Jim, what's the matter?" Ashley asked, noticing her husband's unwilling look.

"It's... It's nothing, Ash. Really," Jimmy replied, looking just past her.

"Something's the matter, Jimmy," Paige said, frowning.

"Look, I probably just misheard the nurse, I'm still drowsy from the surgery."

"What, Jimmy!" Marco snapped, staring at him in disbelief. Something was clearly wrong.

"They just said that... my chances of the surgery working are low... and... something is the matter. They said survival rate is..."

"Is what Jimmy?" Spinner asked hesitantly.

"Low. Low, Spin," Jimmy said grimly. "But I will be able to walk, according to them. By the reunion too."

"Oh..." Spinner looked at the ground and would not look Jimmy in the eye. This all came back to him. Jimmy getting shot, Jimmy in a wheelchair, Jimmy having to go through this surgery, it was all his fault. "Look, man... I'm sorry... For everything."

"Spin, you didn't make me have this surgery."

"If it weren't for me you wouldn't have to make that decision."

"Spin, get over yourself. This isn't your fault. It was my decision and that's all I'm sayin'."

"But..." Spinner started but Ashley glared at him.

"So, everybody ready for the reunion?" Jimmy tried to start up a conversation that didn't deal with his surgery.

"Yeah, but Jimmy..." Spinner started, but stopped as Jimmy put his hand up to quiet him.

"Spinner, do you want to stay?"

"Yeah, Jim, of course. You're one of my best friends."

"Then shut up about my legs, shut up about the surgery, and shut up about me. Please." Jimmy stated rather calmly, his face revealing his fear.

"I'm sorry," Spinner replied, looking at the ground yet again.

"Don't be sorry, you don't have to be, Spin. Just please, don't mention it again, okay? After the shooting, all anybody would talk about was 'Poor Jimmy, he'll never walk again.' Now is it going to be 'Poor Jim, he could die from this surgery.' I mean, everybody focuses on the bad. It may be ignorant sounding, but I prefer to look on the brighter side. When I was in the wheelchair, I found I love drawing and I've got a profession doing what I love. Now I might be able to walk again before I die. Spin, you will never have any idea how much this means to me. There's so much that I've been limited to do! But with all of these medical advances, to allow me to walk, it's just so... unbelievable. I'll be able to walk at my high school reunion. Point is, if we're going to talk about it, we'll talk about the good, but can we please not focus on the bad?"

"Whoa.. uh, yeah Jimmy. I'm really so- I mean, that's great. It's gonna be great," Spinner replied, smiling.

"Guys, I want to talk to Jimmy alone..." Ashley started, but everybody else understood.

"See ya, Jim," Spinner said softly and he, Marco, and Paige exited the bright, white hospital room.

It was a new day, a new start, and a new chance. Spinner could fix this, he knew he could. Jimmy wouldn't have any reason to give him another lecture. Anxious, Spinner knocked on the door for Jimmy's room.

"Ahh, hello, you're one of Jim's friends?" The nurse inquired when she cracked the door open.

"Yeah, can I see him?"

"Jim, would it be alright?" The nurse turned her head towards the room.

"Yeah, it's Spinner, he can come in. In fact..." Jimmy said but stopped. The nurse opened the door the rest of the way and Spinner saw something amazing. Jimmy was standing, of course, leaning for support on a walker, but he was standing. Somehow, it felt like this mended any remaining harm from that horrible lie years ago.

"Well?" Jimmy asked, beaming. He took his hands away from the walker and stood on his own. "I should use the walker though for a little bit for walking, get used to it again, you know? But it's amazing... I can stand on my own and walk with a little bit of help!"

"Jim... wow... This is just... amazing," Spinner gasped and couldn't help but stare.

"Jim, I know that you aren't set to try this for another couple of days, but our last couple of patients were very quick to pick up on walking on their own. Only a couple of days in the hospital and they were able to leave, of course having a bit of physical therapy to make sure everything is working fine. Would you like to try walking unassisted? I'll stand right beside you to make sure you're okay with it," the nurse grinned at Jimmy, who promptly nodded.

It was then that Spinner felt even better. Jimmy took a step, and then another. They were a bit wobbly, but then he took a couple more steps. He looked ecstatic.

"Man... Jimmy... you're... you're walking," Spinner said, trying to stop his tears, but they came anyways. Jimmy Brooks could walk again.


	2. Suddenly

A couple of days passed before Jimmy could walk very well. He was ecstatic when the nurse said that it looked like the surgery turned out to be a success after all. Initially they had told him that his chances were lowered after surgery, but now it looked like the system they used was all in working order. 

It was then that Spinner burst in with a bouquet of flowers. They were easter lilies, Jimmy's favorite. But why was Spinner of all people giving him flowers?

"Aww, Spin, you shouldn't have," Jimmy grinned, deciding that his friend must have just felt generous.

"They're not from me, they're from your lovely wife who says she just wanted to get them here quickly and that she'll be here after dinner. Now, darling, you need a vase," Spinner joked and laid them down on the table beside Jimmy's bed.

"Very funny, I'll thank her when she comes. Two more days till the reunion, Spin, are you ready?"

"Of course, can't wait to arrest everybody!"

"Oh, Spinner, it looks like I'm doing fine. It's apparently some weird part of the procedure, the chances being low and all. Most people who've had it now are starting to get better. Only ten percent have taken the turn for the... worst."

"Jim, that's great!" Spinner grinned and then sighed with relief, "Ashley had me worried there for a sec..."

"What'd she do?" Jimmy asked curiously, but assumed it had something to do with getting a burial plot.

"She picked out a headstone."

"She did what?"

"This afternoon, she told me she'd picked out a headstone. She hasn't ordered it at least," Spinner said, realizing Jimmy's reaction.

"But... Why would she do that? I mean, yeah, back in 2000, this surgery was severely dangerous, but now... It's not quite as dangerous," Jimmy mumbled.

"I'm just the reporter, Jimmy. Anyways, when you getting out?" Spinner asked, trying to change the subject.

"Soon, they're not sure when. They'll let me go to the reunion though..." Jimmy said, then stopped. Somebody was knocking on the door.

"That's probably Marco and Paige. They said they'd drop by," Spinner grinned and walked over to open the door.

"Jimmy! Oh hun, you look so much better!" Paige exclaimed after Spinner opened the door to let her and Marco come in.

"Uh, thanks Paige," Jimmy said, taking the compliment.

"And because you're getting better, we're hiring a limo for the reunion! And paying for it all, as well as your lovely tux I picked out for you," Marco explained, grinning from ear to ear.

"You don't have to, Marco."

"Ahh, but Jimmy Brooks, I want to."

Suddenly, there was a loud beeping noise coming from Spinner's cellphone. It sounded oddly like a police siren.

"Police business, I've gotta run. See ya Jim, Marco, Paige," Spinner said, running out of the room.

"I thought he was off duty, ergo they shouldn't be calling him?" Jimmy asked, looking at Paige and Marco.

"He was," Paige said, and looked at Marco, not trying to hide her worry.

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Hope you enjoyed that chapter. I know it was short, but I'm going to try to make them longer from now on.

About the chances of Jimmy living, they had gone down because of a complication during surgery, but they're higher now that he's getting better.


	3. Gone

Spinner couldn't believe his eyes. It was like a nightmare, yet here it was, happening to him. The worst had happened to Sean and Jay. 

"Officer Mason, get over here," called a fellow officer, Officer Mason.

"Yes sir, coming," Spinner replied, walking over in an almost daze.

"The chief says you knew these two. Any chance you have a clue what happened?"

"No sir, I don't. They must have been in town for the Degrassi reunion."

"Do you know anything about the drugs we found in the car?"

"No sir."

"Very well, Officer Mason. That is all."

"Yes... Yes," Spinner replied. He walked over to the wreckage of the car. Jay had been driving and Sean had been in the passenger seat. Some way or another, they sored off the bridge and nose dived into the rusty old railroad tracks near downtown Toronto. The car looked eerily grim, sitting there, crushed, and without it's owner.

Spinner had helped out as much as he could at the scene, and then headed straight for the hospital to pay a visit to Jimmy. As he pulled into the hospital parking lot, he realized visiting hours would be over by now, so he opted to park and call him instead. He punched in the number and it rang.

"Hello?" asked a groggy voice on the other end of the phone.

"Hey, Jimmy?"

"Spinner, what are you doing calling now? It's 10:40 at night!"

"Yeah, but... Jim, Sean and Jay... they're dead."

"They're what?"

"Dead, Jimmy. That's what I was called in for. They went over the rail on a bridge over some railroad tracks and crashed. I... Thought you should know."

"Spin, I didn't really know them that well. I don't really care either, Jay helped get me shot."

"What, so you think the people that helped get you shot should die? Grow up, Jimmy."

"I didn't say that! He was in the bad crowd when we were at school and that's all I knew of him."

"Jimmy, that hurt."

"I... What did I do Spinner? I know you hung out with him there for a while, and I'm sorry, okay?"

"Sure. Sure Jimmy. You've got a heart of gold there, bud."

"Spinner, you're in shock. Try resting some, okay? You should stay home tomorrow, rest up before the reunion."

"So now you never want to see me again? Thanks a lot Jim."

Spinner closed his phone. He didn't want to speak to anybody. He didn't want to do anything. Sean and Jay were gone, dead, and he had been sent to clean up their mess. The scene had been so horrible that Spinner couldn't, didn't want to imagine it anymore. Yet, it seemed like this was the way Sean and Jay were meant to go, dangerously, and in one last blaze of glory, at least to them. Maybe Jay had been on crack. It seemed for a while there Jay had been getting better and become a good citizen, but in the end, he became a drug dealer. A no good drug dealer who's idea of fun was driving as fast as he could in his souped up car. It was a good thing that they didn't take anybody else with them. Spinner sighed and laid his head on the steering wheel of the car and fell fast asleep.

"Spinner, hun, you better wake up right this minute!" Spinner heard Paige yelling from outside his car window, banging on the glass.

"What...?" Spinner groaned and rolled down his window.

"What? What? I was so worried about you hun. I was banging on the window and you weren't waking up!" Paige breathed a sigh of relief. Spinner looked up and saw that Ashley was standing behind her.


	4. Changed

After having talked to Ashley and Paige, who both seemed extremely worried about him, Spinner decided going home and resting would in fact be the best choice. It would give him a chance to forget about the days events, they said.

They were wrong, they had to be wrong. Because he was doing anything but. Jimmy had said something, something... He just couldn't remember what it was. It was all a blur. There was something about Jay's gang needed to die... And something about going away. Was Jimmy really telling Spinner to go away or was it worded differently? He'd already gone through two (or was it three?) beers since he got home.

Ashley and Paige hadn't been much help at making him feel better. They'd said that Jay was nothing, he had no wife, no kids, and did pot. It was pointed out that losing Sean meant a lot more to people. He had served his country in the army, had twins, and a loving wife. When he thought about it, Spinner figured he was more like Jay, a loner, no wife or kids. Ever since he had broken up with Darcy, he had never found anybody else. Yes, he was in a casual relationship with Paige and he wish that he could've kept it going, he knew there was no hope. Yes, he loved her, but she hadn't returned the feeling. Another thing connecting him to Jay was the fact that, about a week ago, he'd found some crack in Sean's apartment, that Jay had evidently left, and took it. He also used it. Did that make him a bad person? Did that mean he deserved to die? He had to have lived through the cancer for some reason. To suffer. Yes. That had to be it. Ever since the shooting... The shooting.

Suddenly, the feeling of redemption left him. He felt like he was going back to the days where he constantly blamed himself for Jimmy's paralysis.

He swallowed another glup of beer.

He's the reason for the bad that happened at Degrassi. Maybe he needed to leave. Permanently.

-------------------------------

"You said WHAT?" Jimmy stared at Paige and Ashley in horror.

"We basically told him Jay was worthless because he was a crackhead with no family and that Sean was a great lose because of what he did later in life and that he had twins and a wife who loved him dearly," Paige said reassuringly. Jimmy seemed to turn so pale he could've faded in with the bedsheets he was laying on.

"Paige... About a week ago, Spinner called me talking about something he had found in Sean's apartment, but he wouldn't say what. He also sounded high. He's been having some issues recently, what with having to go help at crime scenes when he's off-duty. Insecurity is one of Spinner's weak spots right now. And you told him Jay, somebody he used to hang out with, was worthless. Especially when that was probably Jay's crack that he was high off of," Jimmy tried to say calmly, but couldn't help but worry about his buddy, who had been through so much.

"Jim... I didn't think about that..." Paige said, feeling worried.

"Just... watch it in the future, okay, Paige?" Jimmy told her and picked up the phone. "I'm calling him to see if he's okay."

-----------------------------

The phone rang. Brrrng. It echoed throughout the messy apartment. Brrrng. Two times, but Spinner would not answer. He was too busy downing another beer and writing out what he thought was a well thought out note.

Brrrng. He wished the stupid phone would stop ringing. Why would anybody want to talk to him? He was after all, deemed worthless by the women he loved. Brrrng. Spinner grabbed the phone and slammed it back down on the base. Good. Now he could write in peace.

A note, for all the people he thought loved him. For all the people he thought cared for him. He would run away from home, far away. Maybe to Florida. Where he could start a beautiful new life where people cared about him and he could find a gorgeous woman who would marry him.

Brrrng. It was that stupid phone again.

"Hello?" Spinner roared angrily.

"Spinner, are you okay?" Jimmy asked on the other end.

"You all think I'm worthless. I'll show you worthless."

"Don't do anything stupid."

"Don't worry, I won't. I quit. I need to go to a better place."

"You hear me out, you will not do that to yourself! Everything is going to be fine!"

"No, it won't be. I'm going."

He slammed the phone down. Just one more drink. He pulled a heavy green liquid from his cabinet. It was something Jay had bought for him years ago in Europe. It was hard to open, but it tasted like all the bitter sorrows he'd had in the past. Once he got over the alcohol, he'd leave town, and leave the note, telling them he'd moved away, but it did not say where. He didn't want them to think that he thought he was worthless himself, and to leave just a note saying goodbye could lead them to think he'd done something stupid, like killed himself.

It was slightly blissful to him as he guzzled the green liquid and fell into a silent sleep.

-----------------

Jimmy struggled as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and then used the walker for balance. Despite the initial success of walking, he'd started losing some of the little feeling he had in his legs and with it, his ability to balance. The doctors had to him it was probably just that he wasn't getting enough walking time and physical therapy and told him to start taking more walks around the building.

It was ten o'clock at night, but he felt this urge of excitement to go down the sterile halls of the hospital. He wanted to see them dim, dark, not that sickening white he always saw. How could sick people stand the lack of color? It would seem as though it would make them more ill.

"Jim, you know you are making tremendous strides," the nurse who was with him informed him.

"I thought you said several days ago that some people get out after several days."

"But those are the people who were only slightly paralyzed. For you, this is good. I would've been astound if you could've been up and walking on your own again in only a few days. That and your legs aren't used to holding the strength. How many years has it been since you were shot?"

"About... 18."

"Well, you see. You've got to work up your strength."

Suddenly, he paused. They were in front of the large window that overlooked Toronto. It was a magnificent view. Right now though, he felt as though he had just lost a part of him. Despite the comment about working up strength, he felt as though any strength remaining in him had been lost.

They walked into the small lounge by the window. As Jimmy eased himself down, the nurse eyed him quizzically.

"It's nothing," Jimmy said, though he really just needed a moment to think.

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Cliffie! I'll probably have another chapter out reasonably soon. Sooner at least than it took me to get this one out.


End file.
